In lands where dating is the custom, there is growing pressure on young people to pair up at an ever earlier age. “Parents of 10-​year-​olds tell me they are under intense pressure to let their children date,” said Dr. Ronald W. Taffel, a clinical psychologist in New York. “Parents suddenly find themselves hassling with issues they did not expect to deal with until [their children’s] adolescence.”

What will likely be the consequences if you give in and permit your youngsters to begin dating at an early age? The Journal of the American Medical Association commented: “Early and frequent dating is associated with the initiation of [intercourse].” Yes, you have probably read reports of “the growing number of girls ages 10 to 14 giving birth.”

So, what can you do to help your young ones?

Teach Them From an Early Age

Parents need to instill positive Christian qualities in their children and help them to develop these. And they also need to help them to identify these qualities in a prospective mate. When your child brings up the subject of dating, explain that this is not properly viewed as a social pastime for preteeners or even for those in their early teens. Rather, make clear to them that dating is for people who are old enough to be looking seriously for someone to marry.

Prepare Them to Handle Problems

When you have determined that your children are old enough to date, impress on them the wisdom of getting acquainted with their companion in public places, sharing in activities, such as going to restaurants, museums, zoos, or art galleries, that allow them to talk and get to know each other without being isolated from other people. Help them to understand why this is so much wiser than spending time in the privacy of a parked car or in any other place where no one else is around. It is important, too, to teach them that when they come home from a date, it is proper to say good-​night at the door and not let the person inside unless, of course, you are up and present.

Warn your children of what could happen. A news report, for instance, tells of a student who invited her date to her room after dinner to dance and talk. Even though he made suggestive advances, she didn’t insist that he leave. Rather, when she protested, he would apologize for his actions, but then he would try again to seduce her. The report says: “He finally forced the issue near dawn” by raping her. How tragic!

So see to it that your children know how to act decisively if anyone should even suggest immoral acts. They should flee the situation the way young Joseph fled Potiphar’s insistent wife. (Genesis 39:7-12) They should know that the time-​worn plea, “If you love me you will,” is so often the line of a deceiver. Anyone who uses it probably does so regularly, then abandons his victim and moves on to a new conquest. Your son or daughter should know that a firm, positive no is the best answer to an immoral suggestion.

Be sure to teach your daughter to avoid situations in which she might be raped. Emphasize the need really to know well any young man that she may date and for you, her parent, to be well acquainted with such a person too. If your children no longer live in an area near you, then make sure that they ask a Christian overseer regarding their potential mate. Remember, there are deceitful ones who claim to be Christians and who slip into the congregation, even as there were in the first century.​—2 Peter 2:13-15, 17, 18.

In addition, you need to teach your sons that real men do not knowingly hurt other people. They shield and protect them. Real men are masters of, not slaves to, their impulses. They should properly treat ones of the opposite sex as they would their own mothers or sisters, with honor and respect.​—1 Timothy 5:1, 2.

Never let your children forget the basic Biblical principle: “Bad company ruins good morals.” (1 Corinthians 15:33, Revised Standard Version) Thus, your children should realize the need to stay out of the company of anyone who does not live a morally clean life. From their infancy, you should make it clear to them that while others may not see what they are doing, God always does, and he will render to each one of us according to our activity.​—Romans 2:6.